Category Archives: matt cassel

2015 NFL Team Preview: Buffalo Bills

Rex Ryan is the new sheriff in town. He has experience in the AFC East and it will be an interesting season, especially when he faces the New York Jets, twice.

There are a lot of new faces that followed Ryan to Buffalo. They made some trades and signed some good players for his system. The most important acquisition was the trade that netted them former Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy.

The AFC East is expected to be a fun race for the division. The Patriots are always the favorite until a team knocks them off. The Dolphins looked to be improved across the board and Buffalo should keep the race tight. We will omit the Jets from this discussion.

Are the Bills Mafia happy with Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback?

Here is the 2015 NFL team preview for the Buffalo Bills.

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2012 NFL Team Preview: Kansas City Chiefs

Before I get started, I want to give props to Arrowhead Pride for finding/creating this awesome Peyton Hillis as Juggernaut photo. We are a big fan of Hillis (look at our blog’s name) until he made an inexcusable dick move last season.

In 2011, Kansas City was favored to win the AFC West and make a second straight playoff appearance under head coach Todd Haley. Well, RB Jamaal Charles, TE Tony Moeaki and S Eric Berry suffered horrible knee injuries early and Haley was fired before the end of the season. Those guys are nearly 100% after their injuries and should be ready by the season opener…with Romeo Crennel as the head coach

Is Kansas City a threat to win the AFC West? Here is our 2012 NFL team preview for the Kansas City Chiefs.

2011 Win/Loss Record: 7-9

Key Additions: RB Peyton Hillis, TE Kevin Boss, QB Brady Quinn, S Abram Elam, OT Tony Ugoh, OT Eric Winston, CB Travis Daniels, DT Dontari Poe, OG Jeff Allen, OT Donald Stephenson, WR Devon Wylie, RB Cyrus Gray and CB De’quan Menzie.

Key Losses: CB Brandon Carr, RB Jackie Battle, TE Leonard Pope, QB Kyle Orton, RB Le’Ron McClain, DE Wallace Gilberry, WR Jerheme Urban and OT Barry Richardson.

Non-Division Schedule: AFC North and NFC South

Fantasy Sleeper: WR Devon Wylie – Wylie is another rookie that could make an impact this season. He is a smaller receiver and will be used in the slot. He impressed the Chiefs’ brass during rookie mini-camp. Scott Pioli knows all about how much Wes Walker improved the Patriots and they hope Wylie can deliver a spark.

Team Analysis: I didn’t like Kansas City when they made the playoffs in 2010. They had an easy schedule and had a few bounces go their way. Expectations were too high going into the 2011 season. They didn’t even come close to matching the previous season’s success. To be fair, the Chiefs were without starters Moeaki, Charles and Berry for most of the season. Looking at their schedule this year, they have their work cut out for them again. I’m not sold on Matt Cassel leading this team into the playoffs again. If he didn’t have Dwyane Bowe out there catching poor passes, he would have terrible numbers. I am also curious to see how Charles bounces back from his knee injury. Peyton Hillis is a nice backup, but he is apt to fumble the ball. If neither of them perform well, they will find themselves back picking near the top of the 2013 NFL Draft. Speaking of draft picks, their 2012 first-round pick Donatri Poe has looked really bad at training camp. You shouldn’t expect to see much from him in his rookie campaign. I don’t see the Chiefs matching their win total from 2011. The AFC West is a tougher division and there are too many question marks on their team.

2012 Wins Over/Under Line: 8 (Prediction: UNDER)

2012 Projected Win/Loss Record: 4-12

CLICK HERE to read the rest of our 2012 NFL Team Previews

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Out On A Limb: 2009 NFL Predictions

A lot of surprises will happen this season and it’s only normal that I do this post. My 2008 Prediction post had some that were correct and I was happy how it turned out. I was way off on a few, but these are predictions that The 2009 NFL season starts on Thursday and it’s about that time where I take a shot in the dark and try and predict the future, the future Bobby, Yes, all the way to the year 2009. Sorry about the lame homage to Conan, I love that guy.

– I want to start off with the man in the picture above. I believe Matthew Stafford will throw 20 TDs and over half of them will be to Calvin Johnson.

– B.J. Raji will win the Defensive Rookie Of The Year

– Bob Sanders will only play 4 games this year

– Tom Brady will throw 40 TDs this year

– The Detroit Lions will be 0-5, until they win a game

– LaDanian Tomlinson will bounce back and rush for 1600 yards

– Byron Leftwich will lose his starting job by Week 6

– Donald Brown will end the year with more rushing hards than Joseph Addai

– Deon Butler will have more than 7 TDs this year

– The Kansas City Chiefs will win 7 games this season

– The Green Bay Packers will hit a wall and win only 5 games in 2009

– The Arizona Cardinals will go 8-8 and Matt Leinart will start at least two games

– Phillip Rivers will win the Offensive NFL MVP

– Willie Parker will end the year with double the amount of rushing yards than Rashard Mendenhall

– Marvin Harrison will sign with a team by Week 4

– Michael Vick will score at least 8 TDs in some form this season

– The Eagles will be the NFC Champions

– Brady Quinn will throw more than 24 TDs this year

– Chad Ochocinco will lead the league in receiving yards

– The Denver Broncos will win only 4 games and Josh McDaniels will be fired

– Jay Cutler will throw 15 interceptions, but will throw 32 TDs

– The San Diego Chargers will win the Super Bowl

– Adrian Peterson will rush for more touchdowns than Brett Favre will throw

– Dwight Freeney will lead the league in sacks

– The Houston Texans will finish 8-8 again, thus not having a winning season

– The New York Jets will throw more passing TDs than the New York Giants

– Terrell Owens will catch less than 7 TDs this season

– Jim Caldwell will win more games than Raheem Morris and Jim Schwartz combined

– Alex Smith will throw at least 5 TDs this season

– Matt Cassel will throw more interceptions than touchdowns

– Larry Johnson will rush for less than 800 yards

– Mark Sanchez will win Offensive Rookie of the Year

– Lance Briggs will win Defensive MVP

– Jim Zorn will be fired by Week 14

– Jason Witten will catch at least 13 TDs

– Drew Brees will break Dan Marino’s single-season passing yards record

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Why You Shouldn’t Draft These Players

Going into your fantasy football draft, you have a few players already planned that if they are available, you’re going to pick them. You may have an allegiance to them because they are on your favorite team or your favorite fantasy football analyst picked them to have a big year. If you’re on the fence about a few players, here are reasons why you shouldn’t pick certain players. I’m just talking you guys off the ledge, not pushing you off. All of these players will probably be great, but they all have possibilities of an epic fail this year.

Tom Brady – Did you see how his knee bent last year? Also, I’m pretty sure he’s using all of energy on Gisele Bundchen, wouldn’t you?

Aaron Rodgers – Before last season, he was known as “injury-prone,” one full season and that suddenly disappears?

DeAngelo Williams – Jonathan Stewart is a touchdown vulcher…even if he’s only 70% healthy, he’ll still get touches in the red zone.

Michael Turner – see DeAngelo Williams, but add in Tony Gonzalez as the touchdown vulcher.

Jay Cutler – It’s hard to throw a football with a pacifier in your mouth.

Peyton Manning – He spent the off-season filming commercials and Marvin Harrison is currently sitting on a couch somewhere.

Adrian Peterson – Brett Favre is in town and he’s the NFL version of Stephon Marbury, he’s a ball hog.

Donovan McNabb – He looks like he’s been eating a lot of Chunky Soup lately…probably an extra 15 pounds of beef and potatoes in his mid-section.

Matt Cassel – I hear Scott Mitchell called and he said that he wishes him the best this season.

Thomas Jones – He had more candles on his last birthday cake than touchdowns he has left in his career.

LaDanian Tomlinson – Emmit Smith looked good in a Cardinals uniform right? Jerry Rice was great for the Seahawks, right? Tomlinson will probably look good in a Texans uniform next year too.

Chad Pennington – Does he have any ligaments or tendons left in his arm?

Brian Westbrook – The Eagles have already ear-marked a spot on the injury report for him, right between Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis.

David Garrard – If he can somehow be able to throw from his back, maybe he can throw a few touchdowns.

Maurice Jones-Drew – When Warrick Dunn went to the only option in the backfield he had his worst year.

Calvin Johnson – He should probably play quarterback and throw passes to himself.

Chris Johnson – LenDale White will eat him by Week 4.

Brandon Jacobs – You should probably pick him early or he will go to your draft and give you a power-bomb courtesy of Captain Insano.

Eli Manning – You may have a better year if you draft Archie.

Steven Jackson – Remember when he was a first-round pick? Back when the Rams played like an NFL team…it’s been awhile.

Kyle Orton – Did you see his pre-season games? That’s probably why he’s still available.

Matt Schaub – Do you think he will be healthy all year this season? Didn’t you ask youself that the last two seasons?

Marion Barber – I’m sure Felix Jones won’t take any touchdowns away from him this year…even though Jerry Jones is in love with him. Nah, go ahead and draft him, yeah….yeah.

Ben Roethlisberger – After getting punished last year by an awful offensive line pass protection, they have improved it right? No? Okay, stay away from Big Ben.

Kevin Smith – He plays for the Detroit Lions.

Tony Gonzalez – The Falcons were 31st in the NFL at throwing to the tight end last season.

Terrell Owens – He will be a contestant for “I Love New York” by mid-season. No one will notice that he is gone.

Brandon Marshall – An emotional, hot-headed, receiver always does well when their team is bad. I’m sure he will keep his composure and not demand a trade. Oops!

Trent Edwards – I’m glad that he has that Stanford degree to fall back on. I hear J.P. Losman already landed a new job.

JaMarcus Russell – Al Davis bet the farm on him, but he looks like he has eaten all of the animals.

Reggie Bush – Kim Kardashian broke up with him, his year has already started horribly, do you think its going to get better?

Larry Johnson – Todd Haley loves to pass the ball, the Arizona Cardinals running attack was putrid last year.

Willie Parker – Don’t turn around, Rashard Mendenhall is right behind you.

Chad Ocho Cinco – I’m sure all that UStream experience will be handy on the field.

Joseph Addai – When your team drafts a top player at your position, how do you take it?

Braylon Edwards – Maybe he will get an endorsement for “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter,” on top of his “5-Hour Energy” endorsment money.

Darren McFadden – He plays on a team where his coach broke the face of an assistant. Sounds like a good team atmosphere for a break-out season.

Michael Vick – A few months out of prison and all the pressure to perform well to resurrect his career…you think he’ll be pretty calm and clear-minded?

Brady Quinn – Express and Limited Corporations are located in Ohio, maybe he can pose for some modeling campaigns on the sideline when he’s holding a clipboard by mid-season.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

NFL Football Free Agency – Week 1 Recap

It’s been a busy week in the NFL. The free agency period started on friday and after the first few days, a lot of activity has happened. The NFL doesn’t waste any time in signing prized players, since only a portion of their contracts are guaranteed, unlike the MLB and NBA. The Redskins and Jets have already made a big splash, but will it pay off with a Super Bowl ring?

Albert Haynesworth – Haynesworth was a major reason why the Titans dominated the AFC regular season. They were a different team when he went out with an injury. The Washington Redskins offered him a $100 million dollar contract and he couldn’t resist. I don’t know why this deal reminds me of Dan Wilkinson, ’cause I don’t see anyone really paying to see an NFL game to watch an interior lineman. The Redskins need help in other areas and they still need many pieces to compete in the loaded NFL East.

Kellen Winslow – The Browns traded Winslow to Tampa Bay for draft picks. I don’t like this trade for Cleveland. If they are sold on Brady Quinn being their quarterback, he needs a pass-catching tight end to be effective. He likes to dump off short passes, like he did to John Carlson when he was at Notre Dame. I know Winslow is a problem child, but you have to think that they could work this out.

Fred Taylor – New England signed Taylor this week to a short-term contract. This reminds me of Corey Dillon’s deal with the Pats. Taylor should have a similar role with New England. The backfield is a bit jumbled with Maroney and Faulk still there.

Sage Rosenfels – The Minnesota Vikings traded a fourth-round pick to the Texans for Rosenfels. I know Rosenfels gave a game away to Indianapolis early this season, but he is a proven back-up in the NFL. When he is in the game, he can rack up yardage.

Correll Buckhalter and J.J. Arrington – The Denver Broncos picked up both Buckhalter and Arrington. The Broncos don’t have a number one running back and they still don’t. Buckhalter has been a good fill-in for Westbrook and can catch out of the backfield. Arrington gives you a proven return-guy if they move Eddie Royal out of that role. I still see the Broncos drafting a young back in the draft.

Brandon Jones – The 49ers signed Brandon Jones for a multi-year contract. San Francisco must see something in the young receiver that the Titans looked over. The Titans lack and explosive receiver, but the Niners think Jones can fill that role. I think this signing could be a mistake.

Lito Shepherd – The Jets traded draft picks to Philadelphia for Shepherd. The Jets secondary is starting to take shape and I like what I see. Revis is a good, young talent and with Shepherd, it could be one of the best in the AFC.

Bart Scott – The Jets was busy and landed Bart Scott as their #1 target this free agency period. A lot of people thought that Ray Lewis would end up in New York, but they went with the younger, more talented linebacker. The Jets’ defense will be the best in the AFC East.

Matt Cassel – Kansas City landed their franchise quarterback by trading a 2nd round draft pick for Cassel and the verteran, Mike Vrabel. Cassel with be a better long-term fit than Tyler Thigpen. “Thiggy” did cement himself as a competent back-up, in case Cassel struggles.

Brian Dawkins – The Eagles secondary is getting more and more depleted by the day. The Broncos picked up Brian Dawkins and will trot out Champ Bailey, Dre Bly, and Dawkins in their secondary. I know they are all kind of “long in the tooth,” but they should play much better than last year.

Jon Kitna – The Dallas Cowboys traded their starting cornerback, Anthony Henry, to the Lions for Jon Kitna. This is probably the worst transaction since the Cowboys traded for Roy Williams. The Lions were going to cut Kitna, so I don’t know why they would trade Henry for him. It saves Dallas less than $2 million dollars, so it can’t be categorized as a money-saving move. I sure hope Tony Romo stays healthy or we will see the Kitna/Williams tandem once again.

Keith Brooking – Dallas signed the veteran and makes the Cowboys linebackers some of the oldest in the league. They should be adequate, but nothing to write home about.

Dan Orlovsky – The Texans needed a back-up QB, since they traded Rosenfels to the Vikings. Orlovsky did well last season, but has a lot to prove to be an adequate back-up to a fragile quarterback. The Texans need to draft a young QB in the draft as an insurance policy.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

The Redskins Are Clueless

After A Week One loss to the New York Giants, everyone was calling for Jim Zorn’s head. The Redskins looked bad and their offense couldn’t even run an average 2-minute offense. Then somehow the Redskins go on a hot streak and win a few games in a row and suddenly Zorn is a lifesaver. Well, it didn’t take long for the Redskins to fall back to Earth. They were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and now the village people are calling for Zorn’s head again. If Daniel Snyder was smart, he would listen to the village.

Vinny Cerrato, the team’s executive vice president of football operations, said Monday that Jim Zorn will return next season. This doesn’t seem like a Dan Snyder move to me. Is this the same man who basically has a blank check when it comes to the Redskins? Has the economy hurt Snyder?

He has coaches like Mike Holmgren, Josh McDaniels, and Bill Cowher just waiting out there for the picking and he’s not doubling down. You have Bill Cowher, who has a home on the East Coast (North Carolina area), which isn’t a great distance from the nation’s capital. There are arguments for and against bringing in a new coach, but you can clearly see the upside on bringing in an elite head coach, not a guy that you got last second after all the other coaches you interviewed didn’t seem interested.

I know the fans of the Redskins think Jason Campbell could be the quarterback of the future. Does he have the skills to win a game with his arm? I’m not sold and if you bring in Josh McDaniels, he would bring Matt Cassel with him. You have a pretty good tandem with a head-start on learning the offense. Clinton Portis has a few years left on him, but the Redskins are in need of an elite, prototypical receiver. Receivers like Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El are more possession receivers that lack size.

Redskins fans need to write letters, text, or contact Dan Snyder in some way to get him to explore the idea of getting in an experience coach to lead this team. The Redskins are just a couple of pieces of away from being in the top-tier of the NFC, they just need the leadership to guide them.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

What I Learned – NFL Week 1

I try not to speculate on what will happen in the NFL before the first game of the season. I did have an NFL Prediction post last week, but that was just for fun and possibly bragging rights if any of that stuff comes close to coming true. I did predict that Tom Brady will not throw 30 TDs this season, looks like that will come true. Here is a list of things I have learned after watching week one.

– The Carolina Panthers are what many experts thought they would be last season, very good. San Diego will be good, but looks like the NFC South will be more competitive than the last few seasons.

– Matt Forte looks like Eddie George. I know the Colts haven’t historically had good run defense, but they did a great job last season. If Forte keeps this up, the Bears may find the playoffs this year.

– Matt Cassel “could” be good. He hasn’t started a game since high school. He should have a few good weeks since no team has any film to study on the QB. Unless they dust off some sort of high school recruiting video of Cassel, look for him to have a few good weeks coming up, after that, I’m not sure what will happen.

– The Raiders are still bad. I know this team has a few young studs and added DeAngelo Hall this offseason. Denver isn’t supposed to be good this season and they completely dominated the Raiders in every area. It will be another long year in Oakland and could be headed back to L.A. after this season.

– The pre-season is still a little important. I say this from watching Peyton Manning in the Colts first game. He looked completely rusty and out of sync with all of his receivers. Anthony Gonzalez didn’t help him by dropping a couple key passes, but it could be a down year for them. I am a Colts fan and it saddens me to say that, but I still expect them to win enough to make the playoffs.

– Willie Parker’s job is secure. A lot of people read into this year’s draft that the Steelers aren’t sold on Pakers as their running back. Rashard Mendenhall was taken very high, but appears that he could be a 3rd-down back for awhile. Parker looked amazing and scoring three TDs will make his fantasy football owners approve of him.

– Buffalo looks like an AFC East contender. The Bills dominated the Seahawks and looks much-improved this season. Seattle doesn’t have a great history of playing on the road and this could be a one-week wonder for Buffalo, but I think they are legit.

– Michael Turner is finally a starter in the NFL. Atlanta is going to run the ball a million yards this season with Turner and Norwood as a two-headed backfield. They will give Matt Ryan some time to throw the ball and could lead to a few extra wins for the Falcons this season.

– Jacksonville is over-rated. I have never been high on the Jaguars. I think last season they over-achieved and will fall back down to earth this year. The loss of Marcus Stroud will be too much to overcome and they really don’t have much of an offense if Maurice Jones-Drew is stopped.

– Carson Palmer played like Akili Smith. I know that the Bengals played the Ravens, but this is the 2008 Ravens and not the 2000 Ravens. Palmer didn’t even throw for 100 yards and Chad Ocho Cino, I mean, Chad Johnson was a ghost. Marvin Lewis could be coaching Cincinnati for the last season.

– How ‘Bout Them Cowboys! Cleveland did look bad, but I think Dallas made them look worse than they really are. Dallas is already loaded on offense and having a guy like Felix Jones coming off the bench shouldn’t even be fair. I will definitely watch the Cowboys/Eagles games this season, they should be great.

– Brett Favre is still Brett Favre. He is made the Jets look amazing. I know they played Miami, but he didn’t look rusty at all. The Jets should be much-improved, but it is still too early to put them as a playoff team.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.